Let me first start out by saying that the Snyder Cut of Justice League is the version that we deserve. That’s not to say that it doesn’t have its problems. It’s not a perfect film by any means, but it is definitely better than the theatrical cut. It’s also a prime example of why studios should not interfere with films. 9 out of 10 the director’s vision for a film will be better than what the studio wants unless they are smart enough to leave the director alone. It’s not hard to understand why Warner Brothers wanted a more upbeat superhero movie mixed in with a little comedy. They have always tried to compete with Marvel when it comes to superhero movies, but in reality, they have never been able to truly compete. Sorry, Marvel won and they were ahead in the game on day one. But in trying to compete, they did bring in Joss Whedon to direct after he had found success with the Avengers movie and it’s sequel. But what I think Warner Brothers has always failed to realize is DC movies are always darker and they should be. That’s why Zack Snyder his always been the perfect director for these films. Much like Tim Burton gave us a darker noir style Batman, Zack Snyder truly understood the darker tones of the DC world.
So, it isn’t any surprise that he would have the better of version of Justice League and I must say, I enjoyed it a lot. Of course, I can nitpick quite a few things and there are certainly some things in the theatrical cut that I think are better. Like for example there’s one particular line from Superman that I think is more true to his character. It’s when he shows up to fight Steppenwolf and says, “I love truth and I’m a big fan of justice.” It’s not in the Snyder cut and it disappointing. But here is what works with the Snyder cut and why it needed to be 4 hours. He’s essentially directing two Justice League movies and while you will not get to see them fight Darkseid, this film has more character development that makes us truly understand how all of these characters will come to be the Justice League. And proper character development is necessary to make Justice League a great movie. We also get to understand the strife between the Amazonians and the Atlantians, and how it’s wonder Woman and Aquaman who can bring them all together to fight a common enemy, while also realizing that they have more in common than their ancestors would have them believe. There’s just a lot more character development that needed to be done to set up the Justice League that Batman vs Superman couldn’t do, that film had the building blocks of what would become the Justice League, but you really did need a 2-part movie to really set up everything and then face their ultimate villain… That was supposed to be Justice League part 1 and part 2, Warner Brothers’ version of the Marvel Infinity war movies. But if we’re not going to get that, what Zack Snyder does is give us a movie that sets up the Justice League it also gives us a satisfying ending and leaves room for more. If we never see another Justice League movie and chances are, we probably won’t this is a satisfying conclusion.
It’s a long movie, at times it feels really long, not like when watching one of the extended versions of The Lord of the Rings and it seems to fly by quickly. I admit that there were parts of this movie that I thought were unnecessary, lingering scenes that made it too long. In all honesty I feel like it could have been three and a half hours and still a great movie if they had solely focused on the characters of The Flash and Cyborg as well as setting up Aquaman. Zack Snyder really takes his time in establishing these characters and how they will come into the Justice League, and why they’re important. This wasn’t something that could necessarily be done in a 2 hour movie and we all know how Studios to make people watch a 3-hour movie in the theater. But the bottom line is this was a necessary version of Justice League to make it great. He gives us a good strong Narrative of how Bruce Wayne will bring the Justice League together while also bringing Superman back to life I’m taking out some of the silliness that was in I see a triple cut. For example, The Flash is kind of annoying in the theatrical cut whereas his character shows us the maturity of a proper superhero while also maintaining his innocence. He can still have his boyish charm and somewhat comic relief in comparison to the older characters. This version flows very nicely while setting up some origin stories for other characters. I almost feel like we don’t need a cyborg movie anymore because his origin story was pretty much explained in the Justice League and I don’t know if we really need a origin story for the Flash unless it’s going to center on all the different timelines. Another thing that the Snyder cut does really well is gives us all of the Easter eggs that we really need for DC movies and the Justice League. Zack Snyder even went as far as to give us better perspective on some of the side characters like for example revealing General Swanwick’s true identity. That’s right he has a secret identity and it’s very important to the Justice League. But then again there’s also too much focus on characters like Lois Lane, we really don’t need multiple scenes of watching her grieve for Superman, except to give us a little hint of what is to come. No, I will not give that away, but pay very close attention to what is in her dresser drawer. The most important thing that I think makes this version better is we have a better version of Superman. He isn’t as clownish even though I still think that line in a theatrical release is better. And we don’t have to suffer through watching a movie with a CGI jawline because you had to cover up Henry Cavill’s beard…. that may have been the most annoying part of the previous Justice League movie. One more thing that this version does very well is gives us a more linear story. It doesn’t necessarily feel like a movie as much as it is a miniseries that really tells all of the individual stories that need to be told for bringing in all these characters together.
First Justice League movie in a lot of ways felt too much like part one of a two-part movie or like they were trying to cramp in too much because I knew they weren’t going to make a sequel. All of those problems go away in the Snyder cut while also maintaining the dark themes that are necessary to tell a better story. For anybody that thinks DC Comics are light-hearted and slap sticky because you’ve seen the original Batman series and the Joel Schumacher Batman movies or the older Superman movies, no it has always had darker themes than Marvel Comics. Thankfully, the studio understood that and let Zack Snyder do his vision even if was going to be a 4 Hour movie. True nerds don’t mind a longer movie or even a miniseries as long as the story is told right. That’s
why the extended versions of The Lord of the Rings movies which are better. So yes, the Snyder cut of Justice League is movie we deserve and it’s a shame that we didn’t get to see this on the big screen, but it definitely makes having an HBO Max account worth it. This Justice League story is simply better than what Warner Brothers gave us 4 years ago just like the 3 hour version of man versus Superman will always be better than the theatrical release. If Zack Snyder proves one thing, sometimes you have to have a long movie to a more linear and better story…. hopefully WarnerMedia will understand this in the future if it wants to make more DC movies, but if not, maybe we can just get the director cuts on HBO Max. At least they did one thing right by giving us the Snyder cut and the Justice League movie fans deserved. If I have to give it a grade then it’s a 9 / 10 (Great)!
